Improvement in envelopes



W. L. BENI-IAM.

Envelope.

Patented March 5,1878.

N. PETERS. FMOTOvLlTRDGRAFHE, WASHINGTON, D C

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. BENHAM, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHTTO CHARLES H. NOBRIS, OF SAME PLACE.

IM PROVEM ENT IN ENVELOPES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 200,853, dated March 5,1878; application filed December 31, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM L. BENHAM, of Detroit, in the county of Wayneand State of Michigan, have invented an Improvement in Envelopes, ofwhich the following is a speciiication:

The nature of my invention relates to new and useful improvements in themanufacture of envelopes, so that the same may be used repeatedly,thereby, under certain circumstances, e'ecting a large saving toconsumers.

In railroad business, for instance, the agent at Chicago is compelled totransmit reports daily to the agent at Detroit, and the agent at thelatter point is required to transmit like reports to the agent atChicago. For this purpose the railroad company purchase a large quantityof envelopes of suitable size, and print upon the superscription facethereof the names and addresses of the various agents to whom suchreports are to be made, and these are distributed to the various agents,those received by the agent at Chicago being addressed to the agent atDetroit, and vice versa. These reports, in their envelopes, are usuallysent by the hand of the baggageman, and are very rarely used but once,although it is common to request the agents to preserve and return theenvelopes for reuse. In the hurry of their business, or from negligence,this is rarely done, and the company is put to a large expense, which itis the object of my invention to save, at least in part.

Figure l is a plan view of my double-pocket reversible-nap envelope.Fig. 2 is a like view of the reverse side with the flap open. Fig. 3 isa vertical cross-section of the same on the line a' a' in Fig. 2. Fig. 4is the blank of the envelope, the dot-ted lines showing the folds.

Like letters refer to like parts in each figure.

A represents a bag or envelope, made of proper size and material, of theshape shown in Fig. 4 before being folded and gummed. The centralportion A' of this bag is cut away, as shown at a a, and has two flaps,b b', which are adapted to fold and lap over one another, as shown inFig. 2. These aps are provided with lapels c c', which, when the flaps bb' are folded and gummed, are turned over on the opposite side of theenvelope and pasted there, Figs. 1 and 3. A partition, B, which formspart of the portion A' of the envelope, is turned up, as shown in Fig.3, and thus divides the envelope into two divisions or pockets.

The partition is furnished with a flap, C, which can be turned down intoeither of the pockets, to hold their contents in place.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The envelope A, having the central partition B, dividing the envelopeinto two pockets, and the single reversible ilap C, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

2. The envelope described, consisting of the side A', cut away at a a,the liaps b b', having lapels c c', the partition B, and iiap C, allconstructed and arranged substantially as described.

WILLIAM L. BENHAM.

Witnesses:

H. S. SPRAGUE, CHAs J. HUNT.

